Track and Field To Compete at NCAA DIII Outdoor Championship

IDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The NCAA has announced the participants for the 2014 Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University from May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio. Representing UMass Boston at this year's championship will be All-Americans Hulerie McGuffie (Lynn, Mass.) and Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) as well as Renee O'Brien (Stoneham, Mass.), Anisha Trappier (Taunton, Mass.), Krista Ledin (Bridgewater, Mass.), and Ari Leao (New Bedford, Mass.).

The Beacons are scheduled to compete in the women's 4x100 meter relay, the women's 200 meter dash, the women's 400 meter dash, and the women's and men's high jump.

The preliminary round for the women's 4x100 meter relay (5:30 pm EST) as well as the 200 (7:00 pm EST) meter dash are scheduled for Thursday. The prelims of the women's 400 meter dash will be on Friday at 7 p.m. EST, while the finals of the women's and men's high jump are scheduled for 2 and 5:30 p.m. EST respectively. The finals of the 4x100 meter relay as well as the 200 and 400 meter dashes will take place on Saturday. The finals for the 4x1 are slated for a 1:40 p.m. start. The 400 meter dash is scheduled to begin at 2:55 p.m., and the 200 meter dash is set for a 4:25 p.m. start.

Going into this year's national championship, McGuffie will compete in both the 200 and 400 meter dashes. The outdoor season, was a highlight real for the sophomore, who this past winter became the first Indoor and Outdoor All-American in over 30 years at UMass Boston. To date she currently sits 10th in the nation in the 200 with her time of 24.57 seconds. In the 400, the Lynn will travel to Ohio with the fastest time in Division III this season as she sits with a 55.14 second qualifying time.

As part of the 4x100 meter relay, McGuffie along with Trappier, O'Brien, and Ledin, sit with the 15th fastest time in the nation with a time of 47.79 seconds. The four sprinters hoisted gold at the Little East Conference championship, and will be the lone relay team from the LEC to compete in the event. Leao, who competed in the relay in the final two meets of the postseason, will also be traveling with the team as a part of the relay team.

For O'Brien, she will be making her first-ever NCAA Championship meet appearance as a solo competitor. Last season, O'Brien was a member of the 4x100 meter relay team that competed in Wisconsin. This season, the senior will take part in the high jump, having qualified for the event with a program record height of 5-06.00 feet (1.68 meters).

Joseph, will look to become the first-ever three-time male All-American in the program's history. With a pair of top-8 finishes at the 2012 and 2013 outdoor championships, Joseph enters this year's championship looking to bring home the first national title in the high jump. Perhaps the hottest high jumper in the country right now, the Brockton native has won every postseason meet he has competed in including the conference championship, the NEICAAA, and most recently the ECAC. His jump of 7-00.50 feet, stands as the second highest jump in program history, and earned the junior a gold medal at the NEICAAA championship at Westfield State University.

Video and live stats will be available throughout the three day championship. Check back to BeaconsAthletics.com for updates and interviews with this year's competitors, before they head to Ohio.